Prosecutors requested additional investigation Monday and declined to immediately file charges against four people arrested in connection with a fire that largely destroyed a business complex in Old Town Newhall, including an auto shop owned by one of the arrestees.
A spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors asked the sheriff’s department to conduct additional investigation into the case to determine if criminal charges are warranted against the four suspects, who were arrested last week.
John Wright, 47; Cristian Leija, 43; Jesus Figueroa, 54; and Antoinette Ruiz, 35, were all arrested Thursday and booked on suspicion of arson and conspiracy in connection with the Aug. 24 blaze, which did an estimated $13 million in damage, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
According to the Santa Clarita Signal, Wright is the owner of Gary’s Collision Center, one of the businesses that burned in the fire.
Wright and Figueroa are residents of Canyon Country, while Ruiz and Leija live in El Monte.
Ruiz was released from custody on Friday as the investigation continued.
With prosecutors declining to immediately file charges, Figueroa was released Monday afternoon, according to jail records. Wright and Leija were also likely to be released from custody.
Wright was arrested by a sheriff’s surveillance and apprehension team, while Figueroa was booked in San Dimas by sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau investigators, records show.
No details were released about what led investigators to the suspects or the circumstances involved with the alleged arson.
Detectives assigned to the sheriff’s Arson/Explosives Detail responded around 3 a.m. Aug. 24 to the 24000 block of Main Street to investigate a significant structure fire involving seven structures, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
As part of the investigation, detectives served a search warrant Thursday at four locations in Los Angeles County, resulting in the arrests.
The fire raged overnight and destroyed a historic business complex in the Newhall area of Santa Clarita, wiping away a 100-year-old structure that housed longtime community staples including a restaurant and performing arts theater.
Crews responded to the fire at 2:55 a.m. in the 24000 block of North Main Street, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The heavy flames and smoke led to a second-alarm being called at 3:07 a.m., followed by a third-alarm at 4:42 a.m., increasing the number of personnel on the scene.
Firefighters had to take up defensive positions around the fire and train water on the flames from aerial ladder trucks to “surround and drown” the fire and protect nearby structures, a department spokesman said.
One person was taken to a hospital around six hours after the fire was reported, but the patient was not believed to have been hurt in the fire.
Video showed heavy smoke with the glow of flames showing through the haze as fire crews poured streams of water on the blaze.
By 8 a.m., the flames were largely doused, but crews continued pouring water on the complex and used excavators to known down some of the smoldering structures.
“It pretty much consumed the whole commercial building,” fire department spokesman Keith Navarre said at the time.
A total of 112 firefighters responded, bringing 58 pieces of apparatus and a hazardous materials team was called in, as well as investigators who set about determining the cause of the blaze, according to Navarre.
Sheriff’s department Arson and Explosives Detail investigators worked with county fire officials to assist in determining the origin and cause of the fire, which started in the auto body shop.
Among the businesses destroyed were the MAIN Theatre, Newhall Refinery restaurant and the body shop, all located in a historic structure more than 100 years old in Old Town Newhall.
According to previous reporting by the Signal, Wright had lost a court case involving unpaid rent to the property owner just days before the fire broke out.
In an interview soon after the fire, Wright denied involvement in the fire.
The Signal reported that more than $50,000 in back rent was unpaid and that Wright was ordered to pay up or vacate the premises. For his part, Wright said he was disputing the amount.
The fire followed another at a Wright-run auto shop, that one on July 30, 2025, at Halsey’s Auto Shop at 27565 Sierra Highway. That blaze was also being examined by arson investigators, according to the Signal, which reported that Wright received insurance compensation in that case.
Anyone with information regarding the fires was urged to call the sheriff’s Arson/Explosives Detail at 323-881-7500. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or go to lacrimestoppers.org.